Bill that cuts cash assistance for truant students advances

LANSING – Chronically truant students could cause a family to lose cash assistance benefits from the state under a bill that passed the state Senate on Tuesday.

The bill, HB 4041, which passed on a 26-12 vote, would remove cash assistance — about $386 per month — from families where a child is considered chronically truant as determined by school district rules. The family would not lose food stamps or housing benefits.

The bill puts into law what the state Department of Health and Human Services has already been doing. In 2013-14, 189 families were sanctioned; last year, 68 families lost their benefits, according to a fiscal analysis of the bill.

Democrats tried to get amendments added to the bill that would: remove the benefits for the truant student, but not the entire family; prohibit DHHS from ending the assistance during the last 21 days of the school year to ensure that the family doesn't have to go the entire summer before being able to reapply for benefits; and removing the 48-month cap on cash benefits. None of the amendments passed.

"I find it to be a bit too severe to punish an entire family for the actions of one child," said state Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park, "As politicians, we constantly love to boast about being all about the children. But if we pass this as it's written, it will harm children in this state."

But Sen. Judy Emmons, R-Sheridan, said the bill only affects family benefits for children between the ages of 5 and 15. If a child 16 years old or older is consistently truant, only the child loses benefits, not the entire family.

"This gives the department the flexibility to work closely with the family to remove the barriers that are keeping the students from school," she said.

Sen. Coleman Young, D-Detroit, noted the Legislature is making it increasingly difficult for poor people to survive.

"I see a trend in this Legislature to try and make it difficult for poor people to have a safety net, and punishing them for being poor," he said.

Sen. Tory Rocca, R-Sterling Heights, joined all the Democrats in voting against the bill. All the other Republicans in the Senate supported the bill.

The same bill passed the House last legislative session but stalled in the Senate. The bill now has to go back to the House for concurrence in technical changes made by the Senate, before it goes to Gov. Rick Snyder for his consideration.